September 08, 2014

I recently came across this very cool service called Chatbooks. For only $6 you can have a 6X6 book made from your Instagram feed photos. Each book has 60 pages. For six bucks and free shipping!!!

I thought it would make a cool gift to give to Adam for his birthday since he is in so many of the photos, so I had my entire feed (13 volumes) printed.

Each book spine is labeled by dates and by volume number.

When you do not have at least 60 photos for a book it tells you how many more you need until you can complete another volume.

If you subscribe, each time you get 60 new pictures on your feed, Chatbooks will automatically send you a new book.

You can change the cover photo for each book and also add some different text if you want, but what I love most is the that it also prints your original caption from your Instagram post.

Excuse my dirty blue fingernail. I had a fight with an ink cartridge. The cartridge won.

From the gifts that Ellis, Henry and I gave Adam for his birthday, I think he enjoyed looking through these the most. He commented that it was like, "looking through a time line of events from the past few years." Made me happy.

You may try using the coupon code "PICKED" to see if you can get one free book when you order three. Like I said earlier, I stumbled upon this service app from FreshlyPicked's blogpost, and she mentioned using the coupon code - I tried it and it worked a couple weeks ago, but it may expire soon.

I'm not a sponsor for Chatbooks in any way. I just wanted to share this because I thought it was cool and I am totally impressed with the quality for the price!

August 16, 2013

***Edited*** So I guess I did not gain quite 75 lbs, more like 45-50, but it sure felt like 75 so I over-exaggerated.

With the encouragement from a best friend, I decided I wanted maternity photos. So I contacted an amazingly talented photographer who has shot fantastic photos of some of our good friends, Melody C. Photography. We drove down to Salado, Texas to shoot on a perfect day. At the last minute we decided to bring Henry along for the ride and maybe, if it was okay with Melody, get a few photos with him.

Upon meeting Melody, I immediately loved her personality. She was super friendly and kind and when she saw that we brought Henry, she was ecstatic. And when she told me the story of when she was pregnant with her first baby and wondered if she could ever love anyone as much as she loved her dog, I fell in love with her and so did Henry :) I apologize for the photo over load, but I cannot choose just a few favorites. I did narrow it down, but still - they are all so wonderful.

I'm so glad that we decided to have maternity photos taken. Melody is just so amazing. A week after Ellis was born she came to our home to shoot newborn photos and those are just breath-taking as well. I will be sharing those soon. If you are not familiar with her work, check out her blog and Like her on Facebook. I love seeing her photos on my FB feed - they just make me happy.

Revenge - I am all caught up, thanks to my iPad and the ABC app. It's very soap opera-ish, I think, but great actors make it really good t.v.

Scandal - WOW! Shonda Rimes is incredible. First Grey's, then Private Practice and now this show - a definite must watch, in my book.

Criminal Minds - not a new favorite, by any means, but the season finale was so amazing. A real edge-of-your-seat-nail-biting episode. And one that ends with a great song (see song no. 1).

Favorite Products

Bath and Body Works wallflower in Green Grass - this scent is making our home smell like summer and I love it.

Bath and Body Works body Cream in Pink Chiffon - another summer-y scent that I am enjoying...I've used BBW body cream for ever, and this one is right up there with my Vanilla Bean Noel favorite.

Gold Glitter - and LOTS of it. I glittered the front of the "h" I made for a word I am hoping to spell over our mantle.

The Silhouette is still one of my all time favorite scrapbook products. Recently, I needed to make a card for a friend for, in his words, "sometimes Hallmark doesn't have a greeting for everything." And it's so true! In this case, the Silhouette came in handy and worked like a charm.

I've not been much of a eye make up wearer. Like ever. That's why I love finding cool make up at discount stores, like Big Lots (lol!), that make it fun to experiment without spending lots of $. Plus, this one, by Philosophy, has instructions - fool proof. A favorite.

And finally, my favorite photos from the weekend (plus, the one from the last post).

Laughter among friends - we all agreed that laughing was our favorite form of exercise.

Needless to say, we did a lot of "exercising" Friday night during our girl's night out. I mean, how could we not?!

And of course, you knew it was coming (wink, wink, smile!)...A new favorite of my happy camper with his new squeaker toy.

May 18, 2012

Well, it's that time of the year again. The last couple weeks and we are deep into chipboard, Dixie cups, and paper tape. My classroom may look like a disaster area, but these babies are a a hot ticket with teens which equals maximum productivity at a time when everyone is restless and super ready for summer vacation.

And for me that + end of year to-do lists = busy, crazy busy day's.

So thank goodness that the weekend is upon us!

And in other news, I just have to share this amazing photo my sister texted me from her work trip a the Domain in Austin.

The Louis Vuitton display that I am guessing is just in time for Father's Day. I could probably afford one of those arrows, so thank goodness Adam doesn't need a Father's day gift yet (smile). Either way, it's a sweet display, and I'm super proud of my sister who claims to "not know art" when she see's it.

April 17, 2012

Over the weekend, I had the amazing opportunity to meet two gentle giants, plus their amazing and sweet owner Mom.

Meet, Ruth. These are her sweet boys, Shadow (left), and Shiloh (right).

Going into this photo shoot, I was not quite sure what to expect. But these boys were so adorable and complete sweethearts. Gentle giants. It was an absolute joy+honor to capture this relationship. The kind that I know so well, and hold very dear to my heart.

A mom with her fur babies.

I grew up with kitty cats and loved them. I still hold cats close to my heart. But having a dog has forever changed my life. And I find it so very special and touching when I meet other people who love their loyal companions as much as I do.

April 13, 2012

1. Started the day in a very usual way. Checking roll during my first period, followed by a quick check of my email while my students so nicely gather their supplies and start working on their projects.

2. My conference time. I ate my grapefruit snack with a bit of salt.

3. My sweet friend/ mud run partner brought me our t-shirts for the race on Saturday. We are going for the bright highlighter look!

4. The day past quickly and I was home, changed into my gym clothes and put my hair in a ponytail...gym time.

5. Spent a few minutes with this sweet dude. We opened the window so he could see out while we waited for "Papa" (Adam) to come home. Our daily afternoon routine. (smile)

6. My sister and I laughed, yet again, at her first generation Nike Free running shoes. She still LOVES to wear them to run in, and we love to give her hell over it. She's bought many pairs since these, but still goes back to them every time. Any runner would totally understand. But it's still funny!

7. Noticed this while grocery shopping for dinner items. Decided I'd try a dash in a Lemondrop. It was nice!

8. Mixed said lemondrop to enjoy while I prepared dinner.

9. And chatted with my cooking companions who were there to help and also taste-test dinner as it was being made.

A couple months ago I saw this gadget on Pinterest. I immediately went to the website linked, Photojojo, and then wondered out loud. "Could this really work?!" "It would be super handy for photo shoots, but I'd hate to buy it and be disappointed."

And then I realized it's price and was like, "well, it never hurts to try!"

So I got it. And tonight I used it, yet again.

I plugged in my SD Card into the gadget.

Then plugged the gadget with my SD Card into my iPad.

After plugged securely in, this screen immediately popped up.

At the bottom of that screen was the buttons to select to Import All or Delete All. I carefully chose Import All.

Once all of the images were imported (I could tell by the green circle with check mark next to the photos), this box popped up asking if I would like to "delete imported photos..." Just to be on the safe side, I chose Keep.

Just to make sure the photos were there before taking out the gadget, I went to the photos home screen. You can see that my photos were, in fact there, under "Last Import."

Then I carefully detached the gadget from my iPad and ta-da! Photos uploaded. Easy Peasy :)

So my review?

Totally worth the $15 plus shipping for the SD Card Reader. This gadget is very simple to use. The gadget itself is small, lightweight, and does not hardly take up any room in my camera bag.

April 06, 2012

I found this vintage bow tie at a local antique/junk store. I loved the colors and knew they would be perfect as Henry's Easter outfit. Yes, I know. I love my dog way more than a sane person should. There. I said it :)

Henry was a good sport. When trying to get his attention, I asked him if he wanted to go chase rabbits. This was his reaction

Ears back, eyes out the window.

Truthfully, I bribed him with a bite or two five of a pink muffin.

I am not above bribery for a good photo.

I decided to make my favorite muffins for breakfast and while I was waiting for the oven to heat, I had the idea to add some red food coloring to my muffin mix. What's more Easter than a pink muffin, right?! (wink, wink!)

Easy Easter-y idea for breakfast!

Henry and I tested them out with my favorite part of eating muffins...